The brief period of stability in the U.S. job market; marked by low hiring but also low layoffs; appears to be ending.
According to a Bloomberg report, a growing number of major companies have begun cutting jobs again, raising concerns among economists that the employment landscape is shifting toward a sharper slowdown.
Big names across industries are announcing significant layoffs: Starbucks is trimming about 900 jobs, Paramount around 1,000, Target roughly 1,800, and Amazon a staggering 14,000.
Many of these cuts are attributed to corporate restructuring, efficiency drives, and the growing integration of artificial intelligence, which is automating parts of operations once handled by humans.
An outplacement firm cited by Bloomberg reported nearly 950,000 layoffs through September, already surpassing every full non-pandemic year since 2009.
The data suggests that what was once a “no-hire, no-fire” equilibrium may be giving way to a new phase of corporate belt-tightening.
“We’re not just in a low-hire, low-fire environment anymore,” one economist said. “We’re firing.”
While employers had previously held onto workers amid uncertainty about finding replacements later, that caution seems to be fading as businesses adjust to slower growth and rising operational costs.
The trend could signal deeper trouble for job seekers heading into 2026 and a warning sign for the broader economy.